Revisiting Resolution 275: A Milestone in African Human Rights
Six years after the adoption of Resolution 275 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the promise of protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) persons across the continent remains only partially fulfilled. Resolution 275, adopted in 2014, was a landmark decision: for the first time, the African Commission explicitly condemned violence and other human rights violations on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. It called on African states to end impunity for such abuses and to ensure that all people enjoy the rights guaranteed under the African Charter.
In the years since, civil society organizations, activists, and progressive state actors have used Resolution 275 as a crucial advocacy tool. It has helped frame discussions within national human rights institutions, informed strategic litigation, and inspired campaigns for decriminalization and protection. Yet, six years on, the gap between formal commitment and lived reality for LGBTIQ persons remains stark.
A Continental Context Marked by Violence and Regression
The period following the adoption of Resolution 275 has been characterized by both progress and regression. On the one hand, a growing number of African voices are publicly affirming that LGBTIQ rights are human rights. On the other, waves of state-sponsored homophobia, punitive legislation, and coordinated crackdowns on civil society have intensified in several countries.
LGBTIQ persons continue to face arbitrary arrests, harassment by security forces, extortion, and forced medical examinations. Community gatherings are raided, Pride events are banned, and human rights defenders are vilified as threats to “African values.” In some contexts, political leaders deploy anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric during electoral cycles, using hate and moral panic as tools to consolidate power and divert attention from governance failures, poverty, and corruption.
Anti-LGBTIQ sentiment has also been inflamed by the spread of disinformation and by alliances between local political elites and transnational conservative religious networks. These partnerships promote so-called “family values” agendas that deny the existence of LGBTIQ Africans and paint equality as a foreign imposition, even though African histories include long-standing traditions of gender and sexual diversity.
The African Commission’s Mandate and Responsibilities
The African Commission, as the principal body for interpreting and promoting the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, bears a particular responsibility to uphold the standards it sets. Resolution 275 is not an abstract declaration; it is a concrete expression of states’ obligations under the Charter to safeguard the dignity, equality, and security of all persons within their jurisdictions.
Over the last six years, civil society groups have engaged actively with the Commission’s mechanisms. They have submitted shadow reports, participated in public sessions, and called on Special Rapporteurs and Commissioners to address violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. These efforts have led to stronger visibility of LGBTIQ issues in some concluding observations and in the work of thematic special mechanisms.
Yet, too often, the Commission’s responses have been cautious or fragmented. While some Commissioners have consistently championed inclusive human rights, others have resisted or remained silent in the face of escalating violations. This uneven engagement weakens the Commission’s credibility and emboldens states that argue that LGBTIQ persons fall outside the protection of the Charter.
Hostility, Political Pressure, and Institutional Backsliding
A critical dimension of the post-Resolution 275 landscape has been the sustained political pressure placed on the African Commission itself. Governments and regional blocs have, at times, attempted to constrain the Commission’s independence, particularly when its work touches on LGBTIQ rights, gender justice, or the accountability of powerful state actors.
This pressure has manifested in attempts to restrict observer status for organizations working on sexual orientation and gender identity, efforts to narrow the Commission’s interpretive authority, and public attacks on Commissioners perceived as supportive of LGBTIQ equality. Such moves are not merely procedural disputes; they are direct attempts to roll back hard-won gains in regional human rights protection and to delegitimize the universality of human rights.
Institutional backsliding has a chilling effect beyond the Commission’s headquarters. When the regional human rights body hesitates or is coerced into silence, national governments receive a clear signal that impunity for violence against LGBTIQ persons and other marginalized groups will likely go unchallenged. This dynamic undermines the entire African human rights system and jeopardizes broader struggles for democracy, rule of law, and social justice.
Visibility, Resilience, and the Role of Civil Society
Despite these headwinds, LGBTIQ communities across Africa have shown remarkable resilience. Activists continue to document violations, support survivors, and build networks that transcend borders. Regional coalitions have emerged to coordinate advocacy at the African Commission, share legal strategies, and amplify the voices of those most affected by violence, including trans, intersex, and gender-nonconforming persons.
Civil society organizations have used Resolution 275 as a reference point in litigation challenging discriminatory laws and practices. They invoke it in dialogues with national human rights institutions, ministries of justice, and parliamentary committees. For many defenders, the resolution serves as a shield against the claim that LGBTIQ rights are somehow un-African. Instead, it stands as a clear affirmation that the African human rights system recognizes the humanity and dignity of everyone.
These efforts have yielded important, if fragile, gains: court decisions that affirm freedom of association for LGBTIQ organizations, policy debates on violence prevention and hate crimes, and increased public attention to the experiences of LGBTIQ refugees, sex workers, and persons living with HIV. Each of these advances, however, exists within a context of heightened risk for the activists who drive them.
The Intersections of Oppression: Gender, Class, Migration, and Health
Six years on, it is also clearer than ever that violence rooted in sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be separated from other forms of structural oppression. LGBTIQ persons who are poor, migrants, sex workers, or living with disabilities or HIV are often at particular risk of abuse by both state and non-state actors.
Law enforcement practices that target people in informal settlements, street economies, or border zones frequently entangle LGBTIQ persons, who may lack access to legal representation or supportive social networks. Trans persons, especially trans women, experience disproportionate levels of harassment, arbitrary detention, and physical assault. Intersex persons continue to face non-consensual medical interventions and discrimination in healthcare, education, and employment.
Understanding Resolution 275 through an intersectional lens underscores the need for comprehensive policy responses that address policing, healthcare, housing, and social protection. The resolution is not only about decriminalization; it is about transforming institutions so that they serve everyone on equal terms.
States’ Obligations: From Words to Concrete Action
To give life to Resolution 275, African states must move beyond rhetorical acceptance and implement concrete, measurable reforms. At a minimum, this includes the repeal of laws that criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy and gender expression, and the introduction of legislation that explicitly prohibits discrimination and hate crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics.
States are also obligated to prevent, investigate, and punish acts of violence committed by state agents or private individuals. This requires clear guidelines for law enforcement, training for police and judiciary on human rights standards, and accessible, survivor-centered mechanisms for reporting and redress. Where violations have occurred, survivors must receive reparations, including medical, psychological, and legal support.
Public officials, including heads of state, parliamentarians, and religious leaders, should refrain from incitement to discrimination or violence. Instead, they should adopt a language of inclusion that recognizes diverse family structures and affirms the right of all persons to live free from fear. The commitments enshrined in Resolution 275 demand nothing less.
The African Commission at a Crossroads
As the region reflects on six years since the adoption of Resolution 275, the African Commission stands at a crossroads. It can either succumb to political pressure and retreat from its mandate, or it can recommit to principled leadership grounded in the African Charter and in the lived realities of those whose rights are most at risk.
Recommitment requires the Commission to consistently integrate LGBTIQ concerns into its monitoring, reporting, and country engagement. Special Rapporteurs and working groups should address the specific vulnerabilities of LGBTIQ persons in their communications, press statements, and promotional missions. The Commission should also ensure that civil society organizations working on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics enjoy full and equal access to its processes.
By reinforcing Resolution 275 as a central part of its jurisprudence, the Commission can send a clear message: that African human rights are indivisible, and that no group may be carved out of the protections of the Charter because of political convenience or moral panic.
A Call for Continental Solidarity and Collective Responsibility
The struggle for LGBTIQ equality in Africa is not isolated from other movements for social transformation. It is deeply linked to campaigns against gender-based violence, to youth-led protests demanding accountable governance, and to the fights for land, health, and environmental justice. Recognizing these connections is essential for building broad, inclusive coalitions that can resist authoritarianism and reclaim public spaces for dignity and dialogue.
Continental solidarity means that when one government targets LGBTIQ persons or human rights defenders, others speak out. It means that regional bodies, including the African Union and its organs, defend the independence of the African Commission and safeguard the protections established by instruments like Resolution 275. It also means that communities, movements, and allies across borders offer practical support and amplify each other’s struggles.
Six years after Resolution 275, the vision of an Africa where every person can live openly and safely, without fear of violence or discrimination, is still distant for many. But the very existence of the resolution, and the tireless work of those who invoke it, demonstrate that the foundations for that future have already been laid. The task now is to defend and expand those foundations, refusing to allow backsliding to become the new normal.
Looking Forward: From Commemoration to Transformation
Marking six years since Resolution 275 is not merely an anniversary; it is a moment of accountability. It is an opportunity to ask what has changed in law, policy, and practice, and to name clearly what has not. It calls for introspection from states, from regional institutions, and from civil society itself.
The path ahead will require courage: from Commissioners who insist on interpreting the Charter in line with universal human rights standards; from governments willing to reject scapegoating and uphold the dignity of all their citizens; and from communities that continue to insist that love, identity, and bodily autonomy are not crimes, but core aspects of human freedom.
Transformation will not be achieved overnight. Yet, by holding fast to the commitments of Resolution 275 and insisting on their full implementation, Africa’s human rights system can become a powerful vehicle for change. Six years on, the message remains urgent and clear: violence, discrimination, and exclusion on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics have no place in societies committed to justice, equality, and human dignity.